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Cancer is a disease caused by the uncontrolled division of abnormal cells in the body. Colon Cancer is when the cancerous cells are present in the colon. These abnormal cells may cause tumors which can be very detrimental for the human body. Unfortunately, there aren’t many symptoms characteristic to colon cancer due to which, it is very difficult to discover it in the initial stages. Due to the increase in unhealthy eating habits enjoyed by most of the people around the globe, this form of cancer has become one of the leading causes for malignancy. These facts have resulted in colon cancer screening to become very important.
Colon Cancer Screening Methods
Sighting the importance of discovering colon cancer in its infancy, a number of different methods have been developed. Most of these are done in combination with other tests so as not to confuse them with other intestinal diseases. Some of the screening techniques are:
Digital Rectal Examination (DRE)
The digital rectal examination is a physical examination process in which a gloved finger (well lubricated) is inserted into rectum to check for tumors. Due to this, there is only a small depth till which the examination can be done which makes it a bit inefficient. However, it is a good method to check for prostate cancer in men.
Fecal Occult Blood Test (FOBT)
Statistically, FOBT can guarantee genuine results in 24% of the cases, which by all means is very small. However, if it is conducted simultaneously with Sigmoidoscopy, the results improve significantly. Under FOBT, the fecal samples of the patient are tested for blood. To be more specific, they are tested for iron content present in hemoglobin. Guaiac FOBT and Immunochemical FOBT are the two types of FOBT practiced worldwide.
Sigmoidoscopy
In this procedure, a lighted instrument is inserted into the rectum through the anus to check for tumors or any other signs of cancer. Anything that gets detected during the test can be removed or biopsied. As mentioned earlier, if done with FOBT, the results rise from a mere 24% to 76%. It is very successful in discovering colon cancer in senior citizens.
Colonoscopy
Similar to Sigmoidoscopy, colonoscopy uses a thin lighted tube which is inserted into the rectum to check for any cancerous growth. The only difference is that colonoscopy has a longer reach and as such more area can be scanned. Another difference in procedure is that a patient is sedated during the colonoscopy procedure.
Double Contract Barium Enema (DCBE)
Under this technique, the patient is given an enema filled with barium solution. This leads to the colon getting outlined for an array of x rays that can be evaluated to check for cancer content. Nevertheless, it is not very effective with only 50% of cases being caught.
One might think that with so many different techniques for colon cancer screening in place, the chances of non discovery would be close to none. Unfortunately, this is not the case and there is still a lot that needs to be done in this regard. By choosing to take more than one type of screening it is possible to attain a more accurate result.
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